Pokemon Harvest: Friends In Odd Places
by Kuramanamanama
Summary: He's done it all. Kanto, Jhoto, Hoenn, AND Sinnoh. All that's left is the Heta Region, where gyms are double-battle only. Eiri's faced double-battles before, but there's a catch in Heta: You need another person as your partner. Can he find one? Slight APH
1. Chapter 1

"Miso ramen again…" a young man around the age of nineteen sighed. "Man, I've been on the road for eight years and all I've had for the most part is ramen…This region really needs to be more diverse…"

In a bored manner, the pokemon master wannabe sat and began to consume the usual breakfast/lunch/dinner. Clad in mostly black, he attracted little attention. Black pants, dark fingerless gloves, and an ebony jacket with an orange square design over the shoulders made up the most part of his attire. A black cap with an orange X sat on his head, light chestnut-colored hair poking out from underneath. His eyes, a piercing green, were lazily staring at the meniscus of his glass.

Perhaps, though, he should have been more attentive and he wouldn't find himself in the mess he would soon be in.

He was suddenly startled by a large thump to his right and turned to find a woman about an inch shorter than him looming over. Pretty as she was with her big, icy eyes and waist length hair in a blue bandana that in the style of Cinderella, she seemed to be contemplating something. Her intense stare was becoming quite uncomfortable for the trainer.

"You," she started. "You look like a guy that needs a break."

"Oh, um…" he didn't really know what to say to that, even if it was true.

She placed her hands on his shoulders and smiled. "I'm Hazuki! And I'm going to give you a break from your long journey, free of charge!"

Oh, he had a very bad feeling about this. No good can come from people telling a random stranger of niceties. It surely means that one is in for a scam.

"Listen, there's an inn here in town and I plan on staying there, so I don't really need your help," he replied and turned to go back to his miso ramen, trying to look as if there was nothing else he would rather be eating.

Hazuki cocked her head and smiled. "You know, the place where I live has a few girls coming around it every now and then. All of them are real tens, if you know what I mean."

He nearly choked. "W-what?!"

The girl laughed and asked, "What's your name?"

"Eiri," he muttered, thoroughly annoyed now.

"Well, Eiri! What harm could come from you just coming to see my deal?" she continued jovially.

"I have a feeling a lot, actually."

Hazuki sighed and tugged at her blue t-shirt that matched her faded jeans and fingerless gloves. She chewed the inside of her lip while Eiri turned back to his food once more.

Violently he was wrenched from his seat and dragged down the dirt road.

"Don't let yourself get lured into a false sense of security!" Hazuki chirped as she carelessly sped the two towards the northern outskirts of town.

When his painful ride had come to a sudden stop, Eriri managed to look at his new surroundings. While he was in pain, he couldn't help but notice the wildlife around him. Pokemon crept from every corner of his eyes. Some seemed to be working, like the Butterfree gathering nectar from patches of flowers and handing it off to the Beedrill to make honey, while others like Illumise and Skitty looked like they were just playing tag.

"Hazuki," a girl's voice called. "Where have you been? You didn't milk the Miltank like I asked."

This one was shorter than Hazuki and had long blond hair that curled just at her mid-back. Her emerald eyes were fixated upon the smiling Hazuki. He took note that the girls were dressed similarly, only the blond was wearing a red bandana and t-shirt. Instead of faded blue jeans, she had picked overalls in the same style. Her hands were carrying a tray of what appeared to be bottles of Miltank milk, and Eiri noted that she didn't wear the fingerless gloves Hazuki did. She was pretty too, just like Hazuki.

"That's because I was finding a replacement worker for the day!"

"Replacement?" the newcomer cocked an eyebrow and looked Eiri up and down. "He seems a little…Worn out…"

"He'll be fine, Akina!" Hazuki reassured her and slapped Eiri on the back, causing him to take a small step forward. "You'll see!"

Akina sighed. "Well…If you say so…"

"Thanks! Love ya! Bye!"

And she was gone.

Leaving him with a total stranger.

Alone.

Still without a clue as to what was going on.

Great.

She smiled at him, though. "Don't worry. Hazuki has just left you here to work her shift on my farm today. It's not a big deal. Happens often. I'll yell at her for it later, but for now we should get to work."

"What?" Eiri questioned, more rhetorically than anything. "You've got to be kidding me! I'm not working her shift!"

A dangerous gleam came to Akina's eyes. Eiri shrunk just a bit beneath her gaze as she calmly yet threateningly said, "You are going to work because I can't do this alone and there isn't anyone else here."

He was about to nod and give in when she had a change of heart, apparently.

"Oh! I'm sorry, that's terribly rude of me! I normally say that to Hazu when she's about to run off! For you, I will gladly offer a reward. How do dinner and a free night stay at the inn sound?"

Well, he had nothing better to do to kill time and this would save him some cash. All he had to do was work on a farm, right? And how hard could that be when there were pokemon working everywhere?

Very hard, apparently.

The pokemon, for starters, did not like him. When he tried to collect honey, the Bedrill attacked him.

"Just ask the Butterfree with the red bandana to talk to the Bedrill with the blue bandana. He'll set them straight," Akina had instructed as if it were nothing to be concerned about.

That was the second annoyance. Akina seemed to think everything was self-explanatory and didn't understand the trouble he was having.

The third pain was in the jobs themselves. It was hot today, and working alongside the Oddish in the fields was back-breaking work. Then he had to collect water from the well, which would have been a nice break had he not fallen in from being pushed by a passing Mareep. It took Akira, a Wartortle, a Pikachu, and a Growlithe just to pull him back up. Once out, Akina noticed her Abra was awake from its 18-hour nap.

"We could have just used Abra to get you out, but he was sleeping, and he needs his sleep if he wants to become a Kadabra," Akina explained to an exhausted Eiri.

'_When does it end?_' he wondered as he threw some more fodder into a Miltank's feedbox.

"Mil!" the pokemon cried in return before coming over to the exasperated trainer and eating appreciatively.

Eiri couldn't help but smile just a bit and pet the creature, giving himself a brief moment to relax and enjoy the quiet of the barn.

"Milly's a good girl, isn't she?" a voice from right beside him whispered.

"Gah! Where did you come from?!" Eiri reared back in surprise.

This new girl giggled at him. "Silly! I come from Earth!"

"Riiiiiiiight…" he muttered sarcastically and drank in her appearance.

She was cute in a childish way. Her short, black hair framed her face while a black, cat-eared hat sat atop her head. A black, corset-top dress went down to her shins and a long, lilac colored shirt fit loosely underneath it. Her shoes were dark lace-up boots that missed meeting her same-colored dress by just an inch. An ebony choker was wrapped around her neck while a Caterpie was clutched to her chest. The girl was smiling not just with her mouth, but with her eyes as well, in such a manner that radiated friendliness. She hadn't stopped smiling up at him (for she only came to a few inches past his elbows) for the past several seconds he used to analyze her.

"You're new here, aren't you?" she asked, grinning all the while.

Unsure of what to say to her, he mumbled, "Um…Yeah…I'm Eiri…"

"Eiri? What a funny name!"

He glared at her, a short temper getting the best of him. "You think it's a funny?!"

She laughed again. "I'm just saying it sounds like 'eerie'! All spooky and Haunter-like! I like Haunters, though! I think they're funny! Ha! Just like your name! Eiri! Eiri Eiri Eiri Eiri! Hahaahaha! Lalalala! Eiri-kun, Eiri-kun, Eiri-kun!"

The girl wouldn't stop singing his name on her own, so he finally stopped her by asking, "Well, what's your name?"

She paused and stopped smiling for just a moment, turning to face him. The smile reappeared almost instantly, however. She pointed to herself and said, "Really? You wanna know _my_ name?"

"Mitsu!"

Both Eiri and the girl turned to the barn's entrance, the latter giving a happy cry of, "Akina-chan!"

The blond entered the barn with some more fodder and placed it down in a corner, her eyes never leaving the pair. "I hope you're not bothering Eiri too much."

The girl, Mitsu, laughed and placed her arms behind her head, her Caterpie coming to rest on her shoulder. "Nah! We're just having fun!"

Akina smiled and gave Caterpie a small rub between his feelers. "Caterpie is growing stronger every time I see him. You must be taking good care of him."

"Of course!" she chirped. "Caterpie and I are best friends! We both keep getting stronger together!"

"Lovely," Akina said. "Are you here, by chance, to partake in a little extra training? Or is this playtime again?"

"I'm just here to see all of the cute pokemon!"

"Of course. That's the only reason you come here!" Akina smiled and threw out a few pokeballs. "Lets let 'em play, okay?"

"Yeah!" Mitsu cheered and dug out her own pokeballs. "C'mon out, everyone! Akina's going to play with us!"

Eiri watched as the flashes of light subsided and ten new pokemon appeared. He whipped out his pokedex immediately, pointing towards the ones that he didn't know.

"Leafeon: Just like a plant, it uses photosynthesis. As a result, it is always enveloped in clean air. It scatters leaves and makes vines grow out of the ground to attack," his pokedex spit up in its robotic voice. "Glaceon: As a protective technique, it can completely freeze its fur to make its hairs stand like needles. It shoots an icy beam from its mouth. It also attacks with hunks of ice."

'_Two new evolutions of Eevee…They're really rare…Not to mention that Vaporeon she sent out…'_

Both Glaceon and Leafeon yipped happily and ran circles around Mitsu, who laughed in return.

"I haven't seen you two in forever! Has Akina been letting you out enough?"

'_So…They belong to Akina…'_

"Of course!" mentioned blond waved her hand. "They're too dramatic. Everyone gets plenty of time out of their pokeballs. I only had them in there because I plan on seeing someone today."

A sly look crossed Mitsu's face. "Oh…? Someone like Oak-san…?"

Leafeon, Vaporeon, and Glaceon padded over together to inspect Eiri with innocent curiosity. Akina's Growlithe looked at him with disinterest and her Wartortle was, surprisingly, greeting Mitsu's Torchic happily. Mitsu's Caterpie remained in her arms, but her other pokemon, a Murkrow, Haunter, Eevee, and Luvdisc, mingled with each other.

Akina's face turned a distinct shade of pink. "W-we're only meeting up to share Eon trainer tips! That's it!"

"Neh, neh, Akina-chan! Your face is going all red!"

"Not as red as yours when Tracey Sketchit drew that picture of you and your Caterpie!"

Eiri raised an eyebrow at the scene. Both girls were flustered and staring each other down before huffing and turning away from each other.

"Espeon?" a soft meow called. The pink pokemon appeared at the entrance of the barn and Akina's eyes instantly lit up. "Peon!"

"Espeon! There you are!" Akina help open her arms which the cat-like creature jumped into. "I missed you! Did you have fun with Gary and Umbreon?"

"Esp!" it cried, clearly a "yes".

"Oh, Espeon!" Mitsu cooed, turning back around to give her a pet. "Long time no see!"

Just then, Growlithe made his way over to Eiri, who blinked in surprise. Foolishly, he stuck out his hand for Growlithe to sniff.

"GYAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!! GET HIM OFF! GET HIM OFF!" Eiri shouted and flailed his hand about, Growlithe never letting go.

"Growlithe! Let him go! He's a friend!" Akina commanded, grabbing the puppy pokemon who immediately let go once it heard her. "I'm so sorry about that! Growlithe!"

Mitsu inspected his hand without touching it and diagnosed, "It looks pretty bad. Maybe we should take him to Gary? He might know what to do. After all, he has an Arcanine, right?"

"What?! No! I can't let Gary know that I can't control my own pokemon! " Akina grit her teeth and sucked in air while pulling at her bandana in frustration.

"So you _do_ like him!" Eiri smiled despite his wound.

"I _can_ make Growlithe bite you again, you know!"

"Grow!" the pokemon agreed.

Eiri laughed nervously. "Look! Let's just go to this guy and see what he says, okay? It was my fault, after all. I should have known better."

Akina sighed and mumbled a "follow me" before turning and stalking out of the barn. Mitsu instantly smiled and did a she was told with her care-free disposition. Eiri only sweatdropped a bit before listening and falling into step with them, the released pokemon darting to play in the fields except for Caterpie and Espeon.

Soon the trio found themselves in front of an inn, ridiculously named "The Inner Inn". It was large and had an old-fashioned, western air about it. The bottom level was obviously a restaurant and bar sort of thing, while the other level had many tiny windows, leading one to believe it was there that the guests slept. It appeared to be quite the hot spot with bicycles and motor vehicles strewn neatly in front of it.

"You know, entering this place might be more dangerous for him than just having us handle the bite…" Akina said, sweatdropping for an unknown reason.

Mitsu replied to that with a confused look. "But we know Mei-chan. So she won't challenge him, right?"

"You obviously don't know Mei as well as I do…" Akina sighed as she threw open the door and stepped inside, music and chatter greeting them. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and she shouted, "DUCK!"

Mitsu and Eiri obeyed her command just in time to miss the flying pokemon breeder known as Brock.

"BROCK! I ALREADY TOLD YOU I'M NEVER GOING OUT WITH YOU!"

Three people stood in the doorway, two concerned about the well-being of their companion. Ash Ketchum, a well-known pokemon trainer, and Misty of Cerulean City, the tomboyish water trainer, rushed past Eiri, Mitsu, and Akina to tend to an unconscious Brock.

The woman who had abused him stood with her hands planted on her hips, a glare adorning her features. Chestnut-colored hair framed her face while she wore light purple boots and a tank top with a darker purple skirt and vest. Despite the fact that she was only a few inches taller than Mitsu, she remained an intimidating figure. Blue eyes changed from their former glare to rest on the new group in front of her. She smirked.

"Well, hey, it's Akina and Mitsu!"

Akina sighed, but smiled slightly while Mitsu giggled and ran up to give her a hug.

"Eiri, meet the inn keeper."

"I'm Mei! And I challenge you to a battle!"


	2. Chapter 2

Nobody moved. Everybody just stared at Mei as her sudden and explosive introduction set in. Only Mei seemed to think her less-than-friendly greeting was normal and not at all strange.

Akina sighed. "Mei…"

Eiri tilted his head to the side and looked around the packed room. Everyone was staring at them, the attention making him want to shrink. Mei, however, seemed used to the spotlight and surely put on a good show.

"What's your answer?!"

Eiri stared at her for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "…No…"

"Ahhhh…You shouldn't have done that...!" Hazuki appeared out of nowhere.

"YOU!" Eiri shouted, pointing a finger at the girl who had gotten him into this mess.

"Yo!" she smiled and cheekily flashed him a peace sign.

"Hazuki, what are you doing here?" Akina asked, ignoring a fuming Eiri.

Hazuki smirked and grabbed a young man with brown hair to her chest. "I heard Ritchie was in town and had to meet up with him."

Akina sighed once more as she stared at the tomato-red Ritchie. "Hazu, I really wish you would stop sexually harassing this poor boy…"

"Ritchie's mine. You're just jealous that you don't have anyone as cute as this drooling all over you!" Hazuki's smug look never left her face, while Ritchie's never left her breasts (through no fault of his own, mind you).

"The only reason he's drooling all over you is because his face is smashed against your chest and he can't breath!" she retorted.

"Exactly my point!"

"You're hopeless!"

"On the contrary, I have a lot of hope!"

Eiri watched the two girls with interest. Despite their bickering, it was easy to see they were best friends. He did feel rather bad for that Ritchie, however, who seemed to be having difficulty sucking air into his lungs.

"Akina?" a male voice called.

At the sound of her name, Akina instantly stopped her squabbling and turned to face the man approaching them. Espeon gave a mewl of delight before taking off and jumping into the stranger's arms.

"Espeon! Don't bother him!" Akina scolded, clearly concerned about what this boy thought about how she raised her Pokemon.

"It's fine, Akina," he assured her and scratched behind the pink Pokemon's ears. "It just means she likes me and we're getting along."

Akina blushed, just tiny enough for Eiri to catch. "Ah, yeah…Well, of course she would. I mean, you're so good with your Umbreon, so it's only natural…"

"Ooooh," Eiri understood immediately. "So _this_ is Gary."

"Yep! That's Gare-bear!" Hazuki confirmed with an unconscious Ritchie still shoved against her.

"Huh? How do you know my name?" the confused Oak asked, question directed towards Eiri.

"A lucky guess!" Akina interjected.

Gary raised an eyebrow. "Really? Sure you aren't talking about me behind my back?"

"I only mentioned that you had my Espeon for awhile! That's all! He saw my Leafeon, Glaceon, and Vaporeon, and I then I mentioned Espeon was with you. So really, it's quite the easy guess!"

"Whatever you say, Akina," he smirked knowingly.

'_This guy is the one she likes? He seems kind of cocky…'_ Eiri couldn't help but think. Maybe he was wrong, though. Akina seemed like a nice girl.

"You talk. You die," she hissed evilly as she passed, low enough so that only Hazuki and him could hear.

Eiri laughed nervously. _'Scarier than this weird girl!'_

He then blinked and looked around for their other companion who followed them there. Mitsu, however, was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, where is she?"

"Who? Mitsu?" Hazuki asked, dropping Ritchie to the floor unceremoniously.

"Yeah."

"Oh, she's always disappearing and reappearing when you least expect it," Akina shrugged it off as if this tidbit of information was nothing. "Don't really know where she goes or even why she's here, but she's always nice to the Pokemon. Never let her work on the farm, though. She just makes one big mess."

"Oh…okay…But aren't you worried about her?" Eiri asked, concern evident.

"Nah. Mitsu may act like a little kid, but she can handle herself," Akina reached over the side of the bar and grabbed the soda hose to poor herself some Coke, ignoring the stunned –looking Mei. "Want any?"

"Yes, but…How do you know she can handle herself when you know so little about her?" Eiri wondered, taking the cold glass in his hands.

"She's fine. Trust me."

Eiri said no more, though he was worried for Mitsu's well-being. She was certainly a curious girl, a mystery per se, but still a very charming individual. It seemed as thought he held a certain faerie-like quality. The captivation, the curiosity of it all, and then the coming and going without a moment's notice all struck a point in Eiri's mind. He'd have to ask Mitsu where she'd run off to later.

Mei then decided she'd had enough of being ignored. Still fuming about his rejection to battle her, she grabbed Eiri by the back of his jacket and whirled on Akina. "This is the loser you want me to give a free night's stay to? No way! He's a weakling! Won't even battle me!"

"Hey!" Eiri shouted. "I'm stronger than you think! I only said no because you randomly challenged me like some sort of freak!"

Mei snorted. "Liar! I bet you don't even have any Pokemon!"

"Do so!" Eiri reached into his pocket. "Raichu! Get her off!"

The electric mouse Pokemon appeared, but did nothing to help its trainer. It blinked as it took in its surroundings, tail flicking back and forth.

"Oh, wow! A Raichu!" Akina exclaimed and crouched down to get a better look at it. Raichu smiled at her, a friendly little fellow despite the specie's known aggressive behavior. "I have a Pikachu back on the farm. She's the sweetest little thing, too. Maybe you guys can have a little play-date!"

"Raichu won't be having any dates if he doesn't get her to let go!" a struggling Eiri growled, his arm being forced to bend at an odd angle thanks to a crazed inn keeper.

"Rai, rai!" Raichu retaliated with a wave of his paw.

"NO! I AM NOT ENJOYING THIS, YOU PERVERTED MOUSE!"

"Chu!"

Mei then let go, unexpectedly. "Doesn't matter, anyway."

"Huh?"

"We're booked. There's a new contest in town in honor of Valentine's Day. People are flocking here, and our inn's totally full," she said with a sweep of her hand through her brown hair.

"Yeah, it does seem more crowded than usual," Hazuki commented.

That was an understatement. The place was completely filled, making it difficult to even walk through the crowd. Trainers were everywhere. Eiri was sure he heard a battle taking place out back, some people chattering about checking in on it and seeing if it was anything worth watching.

"He can have my room," Gary suddenly said.

"What?" Eiri and Mei both asked with equal shock.

"Yeah. I'll just hang at the farm. If that's okay with you, Akina. After all, I want to do some more research and your ranch is the best place for it. Not only do you have your own Pokemon that are extremely useful to my field, but wild Pokemon are attracted to the farmland and the forest that surrounds it. It's ideal for me. Who knows? Maybe there's even a discovery waiting for me there."

"B-but--!" Akina started, red rushing to her cheeks. "We don't have any room!"

Hazuki smirked. "You've got a queen, don't you? Plenty big enough for two people."

Akina stomped on Hazuki's foot good-naturedly before addressing Gary once more. "I suppose you could stay in the barn in the loft. But the Miltank are in there and the Mareep, too, along with Hazu's Flaaffy."

"That's fine," Gary said. "They know me from by frequent visits so I don't think we should have a problem."

"Wow!" Misty, who had come back with a still fainted Brock, couldn't help but exclaim. "You're right, Ash! Ever since he decided to become a researcher, he really has become a pretty decent guy, huh?"

Ash nodded. He had heard from Professor Oak that Gary had been doing well as a researcher and seemed happy with his new line of work. The man had been ecstatic about his grandson's decision to follow in his footsteps. What could he say? Oaks were meant to be researchers and professors! "So are you going to join his fan club now, too?"

While Ash may have decided that Gary and he could be real friends now, he wasn't exactly excited at the prospect that Misty might look at his old rival in a new (possibly romantic) light. Misty was his and she always had been. There was no way he was going to let Gary have her. But he didn't really have to worry, he came to the conclusion, as Misty slapped him upside the head after his little comment.

"Okay," Mei relented and turned to Eiri. "But there's this cute girl in the room across from you. As soon as I hear you've harassed her, you're out. I'm all for having fun, but this crowd can get really rowdy. Tempers flair when there's a contest in town and people get overly excited and start to cause trouble. You gotta promise me you're not gonna be like that."

"What do you think I am?" Eiri grumbled, thoroughly put out.

"In the mean time, who's up for a meal?" Mei switched to hostess mode (as Gary left to collect his things) and put on a winning smile, making a few of the men in the room melt just a tiny bit. Her light purple Daisy Duke getup was well-received, too. Her midriff was exposed while the lilac t-shirt tied just beneath her breasts, the top low-cut to reveal everything but what the guys wished. Denim shorts fit her tight, and, Eiri soon discovered, she also liked to smoke the occasional fag with the others.

Eiri glanced from Akina, Hazuki, Mei, and back to Akina. All of them seemed to wear the clothes expected of people living in a little town that thrived on the wildlife and farmland there. Akina and Hazuki could have been mistaken for twins in their jean overalls and colored Ts with respective, matching bandanas. Mistu's outfit had been the most modern attire he had seen around these parts, though it was strange and not something a normal person would probably wear. Suddenly, Eiri felt a bit out of place with his new friends. Had he not seen all of these trainers and their normal clothes, he might have decided to ditch his black jeans for a pair of the standard denim to fit in. All of the townsfolk had been looking at him as if he was some new Pokemon waiting to be caught! Well, he was a tourist. In a town like this, he figured that the folks would try to lure him into their shops and trick him into spending some cash. Not that that was anything new.

"So, Akina," Hazuki struck up a conversation. "Your cousin is coming in some time soon?"

Akina, who had been taking a chug of her Coke, set it down a sighed. "Yeah, Ayumi's coming. Shuichi, too. They're planning on checking up on us and seeing how the farm's doing before popping on over to the Pokemon Contest Registration Department."

Hazuki groaned. "I was hoping they wouldn't catch wind of the new contest. It would have been nice to win for a change, you know?"

"Yeah. Their teamwork is amazing. I guess we just can't compete. I mean, they are a couple. They even plan on getting married soon. So the chemistry between them and their Pokemon is great. We're really going to need to work on ours if we want to stand a chance against them this time around," Akina agreed.

"You guys plan on competing in the contest?" Eiri blinked. He had figured that the only reason they had Pokemon was for farm work. He had never even considered that the two might actually make decent trainers.

"Sure do!" Hazuki smiled. "We compete in every single one the town offers. When it's individuals, we do it alone, but we also make great partners in those types of contests, too!"

"Yeah, well take it easy," Mei said and slid over to them with a tray of burgers balanced on her hand. "I hear that in honor of Valentine's Day you can only be a couple to enter. Looks like your cousin will have an easy job winning with her boyfriend this year."

"Why don't you two just enter as a couple?" Eiri asked. "I mean, it doesn't have to mean anything. You can just pretend."

"Yeah, we could, but it wouldn't do us much good. Everyone knows us here. They would know the truth. Besides, we don't really want that kind of reputation," Akina explained, placing her chin in her hand and sighing.

Eiri fiddled with his cap a bit before asking, "So…Your cousin is a Pokemon trainer?"

"No," Hazuki answered for her. "She's a farmer, too. Her boyfriend, Shuichi, owns the farm, but for as long as anyone can remember the two have been working on it together. Kind of like me and Akina."

"Yup. Ayumi and I are the black sheep in the family," Akina grimaced.

"Why do you say it like that?" the newbie asked.

"Well…You know the Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys and how they're all related?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

Hazuki couldn't help but laugh. "Akina's family is just like that! All of the women have long blond hair, green or blue eyes, names that start with 'a', and typically become Pokemon trainers that take the League Challenge and then settle down with a family of their own while doing research. Akina and Ayumi both became farmers, which shocked nearly all of their relatives."

"Oh," Eiri smiled and turned to Akina. "So how's it like living in a family like tha—"

He stopped when he saw Akina's expression. She was sulking; knees curled into her chest and a dark, depressed look on her face.

"Everyone treats us like we're all the same…There's no individuality…Yet at the same time, we can't help it because all of us really do act in similar ways and have nearly identical looks…"

Hazuki grinned from ear to ear, clearly finding this comical. "She's rather touchy about it."

He only nodded with a bit of a nervous smile. Hazuki scared him sometimes.

"So do you like your cousin?" Eiri asked tentatively, wondering if he was stepping into dangerous territory.

Akina returned to normal and said with a rather serious expression, "Of course I do! Ayumi's my absolute favorite relative. She's always looking out for me. And when she marries Shuichi, he'll be another favorite. They're really awesome people. But at the same time, they're awesome trainers. It's kind of hard to win a contest when they enter every single one and always win. Kind of like an older sibling you go up against in a wrestling match, you know? You're only five and they're twelve? You basically have no chance of winning. They have more experience and more muscle."

It was Eiri's turn to laugh now. "I can't believe it. The only reason you're upset is because she beats you in battle!"

"Shut up! It's not funny!" Akina cried, slamming her hands on the table childishly.

"Now, now, children! What's all the fuss?" a voice from behind them chastised teasingly.

Akina turned around and Eiri glanced at the woman.

Long blond hair, deep blue eyes, a crooked smile…

Could it be another Akina?!


End file.
